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Sunday, August 25, 2013

Adairsville, GA

Downtown Adairsville including original train depot used in the Great Chase.

Adairsville is a city in Bartow County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 4,648.Adairsville is 12 miles (19 km) south of Calhoun, 18 miles (29 km) northeast of Rome and 61 miles (98 km) north of Atlanta.

History

Adairsville used to be a small Cherokee
village named after Chief Walter (John) S. Adair, a Scottish settler
who married a Cherokee Indian woman before the removal of the Cherokee
in 1838. It was part of the Cherokee territory along with Calhoun and
including New Echota (see New Echota, Calhoun and Trail of Tears for more information on Cherokee removal).

After the removal of the Cherokees, the village became part of
Georgia, and the residents built the town keeping the name Adairsville.
One of the developers was William Watts who had a lot of railroad
business interest in this town. He had brought the Western and Atlantic Railroad
from Atlanta (still in use). He deeded land to the railroad, surveyed
business lots including hotels, mills, and blacksmith shops around the
town where the railroad ran by the 1847 train depot. Watt's plan was
successful and brought the town the nickname: "Granary of the State" and
led to its incorporation in 1854. He was also a town resident and he
had a home that was built around the foundation of an Indian cabin which
is on a hill overlooking the town.

During the American Civil War, Adairsville was involved on the side of the Confederate States of America in 1861 against the Union. On April 12, 1862, the steam locomotive General was pursued from Atlanta and passed through Adairsville as its people witnessed the incident during the Great Locomotive Chase.
After this happened, Adairians set their own three day street festival
in remembrance of the Chase. The Civil War came to the town on May 17,
1864 in full force where the Confederate army failed to defeat Sherman and his Union army during the Atlanta Campaign. This battle is known as the Battle of Adairsville.
After the Civil War ended in 1865, Adairsville rebuilt and became a hub
for the carpet and textile industries, and for farm and transportation
services, including its famous railroad. Some historical buildings still
intact in the town include the original train depot which was involved
in "The Great Locomotive Chase".

Adairsville is also well known for Barnsley Gardens, which is now a
golf resort. Barnsley Gardens is situated southwest of the city center
of Adairsville. The home was built by Sir Godfrey Barnsley of Derbyshire,
England in the late 1840's for his wife Julia. She died before the house
could be completed, but it is said that her ghost appeared to Sir
Godfrey, telling him to complete the work. It was brought about by the
visions of Andrew Jackson Downing, the architect who designed the grounds of the U.S. Capitol and White House.
The ruins of the great main house remain. Almost lost to time and the
elements, the land, including all of the ruins, was bought in 1988 by
Prince Hubertus Fugger who restored the gardens and renovated the
grounds into an upscale golf resort.

Ruins of the Original Barnsley Gardens Home and Surrounding Garden Foliage

On January 30, 2013, at approximately 11:30 am, the city was struck
by a devastating EF3 tornado, leaving one dead, dozens injured, and
hundreds of businesses and residences destroyed.

Notable people

Pretty Boy Floyd, a 1930s outlaw, was born in Adairsville during his Oklahoma family's brief stay in the town.